Meet Siobhán Haughey, Hong Kong’s most decorated Olympian

Haughey’s father taught her to swim with floaties in their family’s swimming pool when she was six months old, believing it was an important life skill. When she was four, her parents signed her up for her first swimming class at the South China Athletic Association, conveniently located near their home. 

Two years later, Haughey started formal training but didn’t enjoy it. She cried every time she had to go. “I disliked swimming because I found it very boring. It felt like we were merely swimming along the lines on the pool floor,” she said in an interview with the Association.

Her older sister, Aisling Haughey, also trained with the same team. Like her sibling, she wanted to quit because the practice was challenging, but her dad persuaded both to stay. Eventually, she became a competitive swimmer and represented Hong Kong in numerous competitions.

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As Haughey spent more time training, she made firm friends on the same team. “Although the training can be tough, I can chat and joke with my teammates. Sometimes, we grab breakfast and eat dim sum after practice in the morning,” she said, adding that her coaches also provided her with helpful guidance. It was these relationships that motivated her to continue swimming.

In primary school, the young athlete represented her school in swimming competitions, quickly winning medals and setting records. Chui Wai-Chun, one of her first coaches, said that her physique was suitable for swimming and that she was a quick learner and a natural in the water. “She was training with boys around nine or ten years old and took the initiative to complete all the practice plans. That’s characteristic of her strength,” he said.

Haughey soon realised she was a talented swimmer, and her triumphs fuelled her interest in the sport. Winning a gold medal at the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships at 15 years old was one of the most memorable moments that boosted her confidence. “I surprised myself and the swimming world because I was nobody from a small swimming nation. When I took away the gold medal, I started to make a name for myself,” she told Tatler in an interview.

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When Haughey was a secondary school student, she would wake up at 5am every day for practice before school. She often woke up earlier to study to stay ahead of her studies. Besides achieving success as a swimmer, she graduated with a high score in the public examination and earned a scholarship to study at the University of Michigan in the US.

During her college years, the Covid pandemic struck. The swimming pools were closed, so her formal training had to be put on hold. In the winter, she and her teammate swam in a lake to stay connected to the sport despite the 12 degrees Celcius temperature. “We managed to swim for 10 to 15 minutes but had to get out afterwards because we were freezing,” she said in the interview with Tatler. In preparation for the Tokyo Games, she returned to Hong Kong to train more effectively.

After her first Olympic win, Haughey tattooed the iconic five rings on her back. She said it acts as a symbol of her hard work over the years and serves as a reminder that her past achievements should not stop her from working even harder for the next goal. According to her profile on the Olympics site, she now undergoes ten pool sessions and three gym sessions per week.

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One role model Haughey looks up to is American music star Taylor Swift. The Swiftie grew up listening to her music and owns all of Swift’s albums. In an interview with Tatler, she said, “[Taylor Swift] fights for what she believes in, like reclaiming her own music. She’s been breaking music industry records since her first album, and she’s only continuing to get better.”

Before the Fina Swimming World Cup 2022 in Berlin, where Haughey won three gold medals at three events, she told the media that she prepared by listening to Swift’s album Midnights, released hours before her first race.

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Haughey expressed her interest in pursuing a career in child psychology after retiring from competitive swimming. he majored in Psychology in college. In an interview with local TV station Now TV, she said that she is aware of the stress many children experience due to school work and other factors, and hopes to be able to help them relieve it.

She enjoys listening to the podcast Hidden Brain, where the host Shankar Vedantam explores psychology through discussions of current events and human behaviour.

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Due to her rapid rise in the sport, Haughey has become one of the most celebrated athletes. In an interview with Tatler, she said she took time to get used to the popularity. Since her first Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, one of her race day rituals has been to stop checking social media to drown out the noise and stay focused.

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